Are Celebrities Over Publicized?

On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana died in a car accident in a street tunnel in Paris, France. Diana was leaving the Ritz Hotel in Paris, and there was so much paparazzi that they hired a decoy car to distract the paparazzi. This didn’t exactly goes as planned. Paparazzi in cars and on bikes followed Diana’s vehicle around trying to capture a photo of the Princess. A coroner’s jury in London came to the conclusion that Diana was unlawfully killed by her reckless driver and the pursuing paparazzi behind them. After six months of testimony, Diana and her boyfriend became he victims of reckless speed by their chauffeur, who was driving under the influence at the time, and the pack of photographers chasing them through the streets of Paris. “What they have said, of course, that the deaths were caused by Henri Paul and also the paparazzi. If you read the report, you will see that’s exactly what we said.” , said by John Stevens, former chief of London’s Metropolitan Police.

I think that the story of Diana’s death is a perfect example of how over-publicized celebrities actually are. Paparazzi chase celebrities around every single minute of everyday. They work all day and all night to satisfy the curiosity of the people who read their celebrity tabloids. Society today has become much more trivial with the help of social media. It’s almost as if the world would end if people didn’t know what their favorite celebrity was up to every minute of every day.

Their are a couple of recent examples that show just how over-publicized celebrities actually are. A couple of weeks ago, I was on Tumblr and I came across twenty or so people talking about Justin Bieber’s new hat. The next thing I knew, people were talking about it on television and in magazines. Justin is a regular person so it isn’t strange for him to go shopping for clothes. We all go shopping at some point in our lives. Personally, I am happy for Justin. He is living his dream, but do I really need to know every single detail about his life. I admit, it is a nice hat, but knowing about it doesn’t help me achieve any my goals in life.

On March 11, 2013, Kim Kardashian got pulled over on the highway and received a ticket for using her phone while driving. Although this is a good example to show people the consequences of texting and driving, it does not affect anyone except Kim. I don’t think that stories like this should be written because it is a waste of time. It took me about two and a half minutes to read that article, and I received nothing from it.To me, this information was completely useless and in no way would it help me to succeed in life. Some people act as if reading this is going to somehow help them pay for college or help them get a job. The truth is, it won’t.

An important question to ask is, “Is this an invasion of privacy?”. I personally think it is an invasion of privacy. Obviously celebrities need some publication to continue to have a career. Once a celebrity loses publicity, they tend to lose their job. What if a celebrity, lets say Taylor Swift, wanted to go to McDonald’s and get a hamburger. When she wakes up the next morning, she shouldn’t have to see pictures of her at McDonald’s all over the internet and in magazines. Taylor deserves to have some privacy in her life, but because of society’s curiosity she constantly has paparazzi surrounding her and photographing her every move. They even write down everything she says, so they can use it in the tabloids. Some times the paparazzi even takes what celebrities say and change it to make people seem more interested in the story before they even read it.

I think social networking websites also play a big role in the publicity of celebrities. Many celebrities today use Twitter and Instagram. This allows them to connect more personally with their fans. Does this affect their privacy? No, it doesn’t. In most cases, the celebrity only posts what they are willing to share on these websites, whereas the paparazzi are willing to tell the world just about anything. They have no respect for the privacy of others. On Twitter, celebrities such as Demi Lovato, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry tell their fans what they are up to or how they are feeling in one or two simple sentences. This allows them to talk and connect with their fans and other celebrities but not give away too much information.

Celebrities also use Instagram to communicate with people. Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Harry Styles are just a few of the many celebrities that use Instagram. Unlike Twitter, Instagram doesn’t provide as much privacy. On Instagram, people take pictures of what they are doing in their everyday lives. Because of this, celebrities are sharing more than a few words. They are sharing a picture, which at some point can be photoshopped and used against them.

In conclusion, I think that certain celebrities are over-publicized. It isn’t fair to have someone follow you around and judge you based on your actions. All celebrities should be treated as equals. Over-publicizing someone only tells them that they have no privacy anymore, which isn’t fair. I think that the paparazzi need to cut back on just how much publicity celebrities actually get.

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